Connected
by NatAngle
Summary: What if Greg succeeds in destroying magic? What if Regina is willing to risk everything to redeem herself? And what if her sacrifice backfires, causing everyone in Storybrooke with magic get linked together, so that what happens to one of them happens to all of them?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hey guys! You might think you've read this one, but this is just a prologue, to show you the atmosphere of the story that's about to come. Hope you'll still read it anyway. :)

(If there's anyone here who's reading my other Criminal Minds fic: i'm really sorry about the delay, i'm already working on the next chapter!)

Thanks so much to arosewithsteelthorns for editing this fic, check her stories out, she's great!:)

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'Feel that? That's the end of you! That's scary, ain't it!'

She forced herself to run even faster. She was out of breath; lost in the dimness, the only thing that guided her was a shrill scream that sometimes intensified, sometimes faded. She kept running forward.

Henry. She needed to do this. For Henry.

_She's my mom. And I love her. Promise me you'll bring her home._

She reached a crossroad. She hesitated, tried to decide which way to turn. She didn't have to vacillate for long; that animalistic, guttural cry broke free anew and although her palms clenched in a fit of helplessness, she was relieved that it had showed her the way.

"I'm coming," she whispered, pleading, and imagined that Regina hears her and knows she means it.

She kept running. All that mattered, all she valued, was squeezed into the darkness that filled the air in front of her. If she failed now, Henry will fall apart. She can't let him down. Not this time.

She passed large, wooden boxes. Farther away, a row of rusty doors materialized. A faint trail of light flickered on the floor and she made her way towards the door the glint came from. Even though every inch of her body told her to run, she slowed down and cautiously stayed low by the wall.

She flinched when a cry pierced her ears, louder than before, but she knew she was close; that she just had to reach the door and behind that, there she'd be. She's hurt, she knows that. But is she broken? Has she given up? Or does she still have faith that they will find her?

A delighted chuckle followed and, instantly, the door banged open. The light amplified and she instinctively backed away, blending into the shadows. She raised her gun but she was still blinded and she couldn't be sure she'd hit her target if she pulled the trigger. She didn't want to fire just yet, not until she knew how many threats she had to face; she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"I'll be back in a minute," a man said and she gasped as she recognized Greg's voice.

For a moment, her thoughts wandered to that day when she'd made sure he'd seen nothing of the town's greatest secret. At least she believed she had. For the umpteenth time, she decided it was best not to trust anyone.

He stepped out of the room and she crouched even lower, her back sliding along the cold wall. A soft, wretched scream escaped from the light and there was something horrifyingly final to it that made her shiver.

He turned back to the room and she caught a glimpse of a brief smile flashing across his face.

"Try to... enjoy yourself," he said and he walked towards the opposite end of the corridor. She held her breath, but he was too careless and cocky to turn around.

She waited until he had disappeared behind the corner, then she crept closer to the open door and listened motionlessly for a moment. She heard her heart pound in her chest deafeningly. She forced herself to calm down but she knew she was too tense to loosen up even just a bit. There was an electric buzz coming from inside that she couldn't place but as far as she could tell, there was only one person in the room; and that had to be Regina.

She straightened up and pushed her gun back into the holster. Only when she entered the room did she realize that the screaming had vanished and had been replaced with softer but no less eerie, unconscious moaning.

It took her a second to take it all in - the door in the back of the room, the buzzing machine on the right, the probes running from it, the gurney on the left. And on the gurney - a limp body, with electrodes attached to her temples and fingers, convulsing and twitching helplessly.

She tried, but she couldn't see the Evil Queen on the gurney. For once, with her shut eyes, her slightly parted lips and her expression distorted in agony, Regina was nothing more than a pitiful victim; the victim of her past, her mother and her devastated soul she eventually chose not to fight.

Emma did her best to ignore the cries and the washed-out face on the gurney. Ashamed that she was incapable of being a mere spectator of the torture Regina has gone through, she hurried to the machine and hit the switch on the top. The buzz faded out; Regina's body jerked for a last time, pushed against her restraints, then fell still.

She was hesitant to turn away from the box and approach Regina. That would mean she'd have to face Regina at her weakest and that frightened her.

Breathing heavily, she finally walked up to the gurney. It was all so surreal. She felt like a voyeur, invading Regina's most private moments. Everything Regina ever had was taken from her - her love, her childhood, her freedom, her son. All she had left was her power - and now that was gone too. And Emma stood by, watching her chest jerkily lift and sink and there was nothing between them; no magic, no hostility, just two humans, both with disrupted histories but with different presents.

For a moment, she thought about just how lucky she had been. She could as well have turned out to be the Evil Queen. She definitely wasn't a saint either.

She shook herself. She knew there was no time to give way to her emotions. For a second, she fiddled with the bindings that pinned Regina down, and then she tore them open and ripped off the electrodes.

Regina still didn't move and Emma knew she couldn't carry her limp body out of the building on her own, especially not with Greg chasing after them.

It crossed her mind that she could just run away and save her own life. After all, there was no point in both of them dying.

_She's my mom. And I love her. Promise me you'll bring her home._

Emma made up her mind. She leaned forward and gave Regina's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Come on, Regina, we gotta go," she whispered desperately.

But there was no answer.

"Regina please," she begged and she swept Regina's hair out of her forehead. "He needs you, please..."

As she touched her face, Emma felt the same scary yet warming tingling in her fingers that she'd felt right before the portal to the Enchanted Forest was opened. She blushed as adrenalin rushed through her veins and exhaled in relief when Regina stirred and her eyes flickered.

"Emma," she groaned, so soft Emma wasn't sure she didn't imagine it. And she certainly didn't notice that there was no "Ms Swan" this time. Just Emma.

"Regina? Can you move? We need to leave, now..."

Footsteps were thundering on the corridor floor and Emma suddenly grew panicky. Regina didn't seem to notice.

"Can you get up? Here, I'll help you," she muttered and she slid an arm under Regina's back, who still didn't move. She just looked back at her with such a blank expression that Emma doubted she understood what she said at all. "Come on," she said.

Shifting her weight, she pulled Regina up into a half-sitting position.

Regina's face tensed as she tried to get up but her body disobeyed her. Every tiny movement brought on a shot of pain and she felt like even breathing was difficult. She squeezed her lips together and bit back a cry.

She couldn't let Emma see her this way. She was strong, one of the strongest. So why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she fight the pain?

The footsteps kept getting louder.

Regina tightened her muscles as Emma helped her onto her feet. Her legs were shaky but Emma kept an arm around her to give her support.

"It's okay," she whispered as they made a few uneasy steps towards the door.

But it wasn't. She knew they couldn't reach the door before Greg gets back. She practically dragged Regina along.

Regina understood what the noise from the corridor meant too late. She backed away, violently, her eyes wide with fear. She began to feel the electricity charging through her body again, making her lose her senses. Stepping back, she threw Emma off balance and resulted in her stumbling forward.

Greg entered the room, his expression cautious and determined. Absently, he kept running her fingers across the trigger of the gun he held in his hand steadily, aiming at Emma, who was still kneeling on the floor.

Emma knew there was no point in reaching for her gun. She risked a quick glance at Regina who held herself up by leaning against the gurney. It worried Emma how weak she looked - she was clearly struggling to even keep her eyes open.

"Ms Swan?" Greg asked, but there was no hint of surprise in his voice. He still hadn't lowered the gun. "I was hoping we would see each other under more pleasant circumstances."

"Like you in a jail cell and me holding the keys?" Emma guessed.

Greg's jaw clenched.

"How brave of you to mock me when I can take your life in an instant."

"Owen..." Regina groaned, her voice hoarse from screaming.

"Sorry, this is a no-evil conversation," Greg retorted.

Regina hardly swallowed.

"What do you call yourself then?" Emma asked. "Greg, the Savior?"

"I thought that was you, Ms Swan."

"Well, I'm not really saving anyone right now, so if you're up to the job, go ahead, take it. Just a word of warning: the pay sucks, especially if you consider all the bumpy parts of the job description."

"You have no idea, who you're up against. No one does. And we need that to stay that way. I'm afraid that none of you may leave this room. Well, at least not alive," Greg said, a fanatic look settling in his eyes. He cocked his gun. "I have a bit of unfinished business with Her Majesty over there, and you would just be disturbing us. I hope you said your goodbyes this morning, Ms Swan."

"Owen..." Regina tried again, but there was no use. He smiled, sadistically.

Mary Margaret entered through the backdoor just in time to see Greg pull the trigger.

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Well, i really hope you liked it. Please leave a review if you have time! Have a good night, guys!:)


	2. Chapter 2

There was no screaming. No pleading. No praying. No goodbyes.

There was no time for any of them.

She thought about how people always said their life flashed before their eyes when they were facing death.

But she only saw the muzzle of the gun.

She wondered whether this meant that there was nothing in her life that was worth to recall.

She watched the bullet slice through the air. It felt like time had slowed down, almost stopped.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mary Margaret had entered the room and she wished she didn't have to watch her die. She wished they'd never met, that they'd never found out they were family.

Maybe Regina was right after all. Maybe love really is weakness.

She wondered how it was possible that she could think of so many things with such little time.

"Stop it!" Greg suddenly hissed.

She barely registered his voice. She strived to keep up a brave front for Mary Margaret. Her mother. Watching a child die was too cruel a fate, made so much more difficult if she was in tears. If it hadn't been for her, she would've been screaming in panic.

"Stop it!" he yelled, louder this time.

She didn't dare to take her eyes off the bullet. She needed to know when her end came.

But it didn't.

She realized time really had slowed down. The bullet was shaking in mid-air, struggling to cut on but held back.

"I'm saving you, Owen," Regina said, her voice distant and hoarse. Her arm was extended in front of her, fingers in such a position that it seemed she was holding the bullet, if only a few meters closer. "I only hope you'll understand it one day."

The gun clattered to the floor and slid towards Regina with a harsh scraping sound.

Emma glanced up.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her fist clenched as she struggled with the bullet. Emma swallowed as the bullet, as if it was being pulled on an invisible string, flew on sideways. Away from her.

But not towards Greg.

Towards her mother.

Regina fought. Her knees bent, her fingers whitened as she held onto the gurney to keep her upright. Her head was pounding as she struggled to stay conscious.

If she'd had the strength to think about anything but saving Emma and Owen, she would've wondered how she was able to use magic again. After all, Owen had taken that from her. Just like he took her dignity.

She might have realized Emma didn't just heal her physically. She gave her back her freedom.

She would have laughed at the sour irony of that. Emma giving her magic back to her. That certainly wasn't something she would have done intentionally.

She coughed, more like a bark. Her breathing turned hard and shallow. Her body was trembling violently.

So was the bullet.

Then it stopped inches from Mary Margaret's chest.

Emma couldn't stop the instinctive scream that broke free from her throat.

"You'll kill her! Stop it!"

She didn't have the strength to react to the accusation. Emma wouldn't have understood anyway. She didn't know who Owen was. She didn't know they shared the same fate. Only his was scrambled by the Evil Queen, like hers by her mother.

But Cora was gone. Maybe it was time for her to get her fair punishment as well. Didn't she deserve to be pinned down and electrocuted? Humiliated and shattered? Didn't Owen have the right to take everything she had? She'd ripped his life apart when she killed his father...

She couldn't direct the bullet at him. Not even after what he'd done to her.

She could have been surprised she didn't feel rage towards him. Nor did she wish vengeance.

All she felt was sadness and grief. She wondered whether that was better than feeling empty.

Mary Margaret closed her eyes. She didn't know whether she was going to get hit, but she didn't care. For Emma, a thousand times over.

Regina was too worn-out to taunt her for her useless nobility. She looked down on how the Charmings purposefully searched for situations where they could risk their own lives for basically anyone.

Why couldn't she just step away? Regina slowed down the bullet but she knew she couldn't contain it much longer. Why didn't she run? Why didn't they both leave her?

She drew a deep breath. She felt a teardrop roll down her cheek softly and she suddenly felt nauseous. Crying was even more mortifying than being tortured and forced to accept help.

And then that moment came. The moment she knew nothing mattered anymore. That whatever was going to happen next lost importance. When she had to face that no one was on her side, not even her parents. When everyone she ever loved was brutally snatched away from her. When she realized being ruthless and suffocating her emotions were simply means essential to she swore revenge on Snow. When she decided she wanted to learn magic. When she transformed into the Evil Queen.

She just saved Emma's life, but she already turned her back on her. And she wasn't there for her anyway. Only for Henry, she was sure of that. And Snow? She was the only one the Charmings wouldn't put their lives on the line for. Could she blame them?

Henry. He was the one she was sure she'd feel the lack of, even if everything was sucked out of her. If her heart stopped beating and she didn't even know who Henry was, she'd still feel something was missing. Always.

And Greg… She couldn't help but see her own distorted reflection in his eyes. He was right.

Pure evil.

Maybe it wasn't her fault. Maybe she's been scarred too many times, by people she trusted and by those who didn't even know who she was.

She grew sicker. Her headache made her see stars and using magic on top of that was unbearable. Her own magic was burning her up from inside, shooting through her veins like poison, boiling her blood.

Magic can't be controlled by the weak.

She braced herself. Just one more pull. And then it would be over. The pain, both physical and emotional; the grief, the emptiness. The constant dread, the loneliness. It would all be gone. Forever. And then…Nothing.

An almost peaceful concept.

She could settle for that.

For the last time, she took control of the bullet, ignoring her lungs failing to pump fresh oxygen into her veins. Magic took charge of her body. And it wanted to break free.

The bullet turned away from Mary Margaret and tore through the room, speeding up.

And just like that, it was done.

Was it selfish of her? To abandon Henry so abruptly? Without a goodbye?

He always said he'd found his real mom when he came back from Boston. And he always thought of her as the Evil Queen, a villain. Someone rotten to the core, someone unable or unworthy of being loved or saved. He'd never had faith in her, even when everyone else pretended they gave her a second chance. He was the first to abandon her, even before Snow.

Maybe it was on the contrary- her only purely selfless act. She saves Emma, Snow and Greg - and in the long run, all the inhabitants of Fairytale Land would be forever free of her reign of terror. And so would Henry. Free to finally live with his real mother. And forget about the Evil Queen.

Still, she hoped he knew she loved her. Just as much as she loved Daniel.

Daniel…

His soft, innocent brown eyes full of love and trust. For her.

Would he still love her? She'd turned into her mother. Killed countless others the way her mother had killed him and any hope of her happiness. A monster. That's what she was now.

But everything has to come to an end. And everyone has to go and let go when the time comes.

A relieved sigh burst out of her when the bullet hit her chest.

She barely felt it. She was utterly relieved she could finally give up. She let her knees buckle beneath her; her head cracking against the ground, hard.

She saw Emma launch herself at Greg and knock him to the ground, and Mary Margaret running towards her through blurred vision but she couldn't understand what was happening.

And suddenly there she was; Mary Margaret, her lifelong enemy, kneeling next to her, holding her hand, then pushing her chest. Whispering for her to not give in.

She wanted her to go away. She knew it was all in vain. There was no use in trying to bring back to life someone who's been dead for decades.

She suddenly realized how significant last words were but she knew hers wouldn't matter to anyone but herself. Maybe. She'd expected to damn her killers to hell when the time came. And she'd lasted so much longer than she'd ever anticipated.

She took a last, shaky gasp. She was already fading into the darkness.

Then she mustered the courage to whisper what she knew would reveal her at her weakest.

"Forgive me."

And she was gone.

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Well, i really hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review if you have time! Have a good night, guys!:)

Thanks to Rachel (arosewithsteelthorns) for being a great beta!:)


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